The Honest Answer
by watchoutforfallingdinosaurs
Summary: They may be painful, devastating, or even cruel, but sometimes, the honest answers are the best ones. Raven and Terra friendship (?) post Things Change. Written in honor of tonight's TTG episode "Terra-ized"


Raven/Terra stuff because they are my Beast Boy loving babies. Also I want something happier to contrast their difficult relationship in Goose Girl.

ALSO TERRA-IZED ANNIHILATED MY FEELS okay I'm done. The end.

* * *

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Were you surprised or something?"

"Honestly, I wasn't sure you'd make it."

"Thought I'd back out?"

"Something like that."

"Nice to see I can still surprise you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Rae, I know it's you."

"Obviously it's me. When did I say you could call me Rae instead of Rachel?"

"I mean I know that you're the _real_ you."

"I know that you're the real you, too. Any other glaringly obvious observations?"

The constant back-and-forth was getting old. _This must be what he feels like when he talks to her. _Tara frowned down at her pizza crust. "I knew no one could keep any secrets from you."

"You did the first time," said Rachel tersely, removing a slice of pepperoni and only realizing what she was doing halfway through the action. She knew a certain green shapeshifter would have been proud and felt heat rise in her cheeks. "By the skin of your teeth. Unfortunately, I'm not a mind reader." Rachel took a small bite and chewed quietly before continuing. "You knew who I was when we met at the track meet?"

Of course Tara had. A normal girl with _her_ personality wouldn't be seen anywhere near a sports event. "I thought so."

"And you want nothing to do with us."

Tara hesitated, unsure if the honest answer was the right one. "No."

"You knew who I was when I invited you to 'study' with me at the pizza parlor, you want nothing to do with us, but you came to get pizza with me all the same?"

For this, there was no reply; at least, there wasn't one that Tara was willing to share. It was odd. The girl before her looked little like the girl in the family she'd left behind. Her short black hair, blue eyes, and healthy complexion could have fooled any other citizen, and yet to Tara, she was nothing but familiar. She hadn't realized how much she missed them until she watched the boy run down the hallway for the last time, and had practically jumped at the chance to speak to one of them again. Even if "Rachel" had been the most difficult during their time together, she would also ask the least questions, or so Tara had thought. Her persistence was almost like talking to him again...

"How is he doing?" Tara asked, reaching for a slice of the shared pizza at the center of the table.

"He seems well," replied Rachel, who raised an eyebrow elegantly. "As well as he can be, anyway." She turned her head to face the blonde girl, her eyes piercing even in casual conversation.

"That's good." The look on Rachel's face was making her regret having asked. She wasn't even sure why she did it. Stuffing her face with a new slice of pizza to avoid talking further, Tara looked over to see the beginnings of a parade forming down the street. "Hey, Rachel, check out the—"

"He misses you, Tara."

Tara swallowed, almost too quickly. "I know."

Releasing a deep, mournful sigh, Rachel rested her hand on her chin. "Well, at least you know, I suppose."

"You know I can't go back there."

"I do."

Tara mimicked Rachel's sigh perfectly, mocking the way she'd propped her head up on her hand. "Well, at least you know, I suppose."

Rachel rolled her eyes at the small giggle that Tara gave, knowing that the girl across from her was only half-joking. "Not funny."

"A little funny, Rae." Patiently, Rachel waited for her companion to continue. It took much longer than expected; Tara fingered the hem of her skirt for a while, then constantly smoothed it out, before finally saying, "I just can't build him back up again."

Rachel blinked. "Oh?"

"I just...I know what he wants to happen if I come back. The last time that he saw me, I couldn't even look at him, he wanted so much and I couldn't...I hadn't even done anything, and he was so frustrated, but—"

"We heard." Tara cringed, and Rachel, noticing the motion, chose to ignore it. "I think he knows better now. Just a visit might be enough, of your own volition, mind you. He knows you can't come back for good."

"But he wants me to."

"Of course he does. That doesn't change the fact that you can't." Rachel paused to take another quick bite of the slice before her, which she'd almost forgotten. "Well, you can, I guess, but apparently you're quite interested in the whole 'high school' thing."

Tara scoffed. "I'm interested in the whole 'normal' thing."

Rachel hadn't expected to hear that, and she supposed that Tara hadn't expected to say it, because the blonde girl flushed and started playing with her hem again. "Sorry, Rae, I didn't mean it like that, it's not like you guys are weird, it's just that—"

"Just as unnecessarily apologetic as ever," said Rachel loftily. "The fact that we aren't normal isn't exactly headline news."

There was a moment's silence before the two girls began laughing: Tara bursting and gasping for air, Rachel keeping her quiet chuckles somewhat restrained. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming, but Tara chose to revel in it, just for a moment. Wiping a lone tear from her eye, Tara replied, "I guess not."

Rachel snickered before regaining her composure. "Being normal would be nice, I guess," she began, twisting the ring around her middle finger. "It's just not for me. Not for any of us. Well, most of us," she corrected softly.

The statement snapped Tara out of her reverie instantly. "It was all I really wanted," she whispered. "But somehow you can still make me feel guilty for it. I'm not coming back."

"No one expects you to."

Tara sighed, feeling both relief and anxiety. "He knows I'm sorry, doesn't he?"

"We all know you're sorry. Do you think I would have invited you out for pizza if I weren't sure you regretted your actions?"

"No, I mean, for...us. Just the two of us. For not coming back. Does he understand?"

Rachel hesitated, unsure if the honest answer was the best one here. He _knew_, certainly, but based on the way that he flipped through his old pictures night and day, the way he whimpered when he thought no one could hear, understanding seemed to be a long way off. "He will."

The loud beep of a car horn startled each girl; peering over the edge, Tara and Rachel saw a small blue car parked on the side of the road. "Whoops, that's my ride," Tara said abruptly, collecting her things and reaching into her wallet for a few dollars to throw on the table. "Promised the girls I'd go with them to the movies."

Rachel collected the money Tara had given her and reached for some of her own, not looking up. "Same time next week?"

Formerly all motion, the blonde girl froze. She looked at Rachel, who raised her head, questioning. Tara couldn't reply, unsure if the honest answer would be taken gracefully. As if she'd read her mind, Rachel, despite seeming disappointed, nodded in understanding; for a split-second, life became a snapshot of another time. "It's been real, Rae."

As she hoisted her bag up and over her shoulder, Tara turned and headed for the exit. It was too hard, seeing them and returning to normal life in a heartbeat. It made her sick, brought her back to the mental place in which she'd been during her unsavory double life. That's how she knew it would be wrong to turn back. It would be painful, perhaps even devastating. It would be cruel. It would make everything worse.

But it would also be honest.

"Rachel?" Tara called, pivoting more quickly than she thought she ever had.

Rachel didn't move, didn't even blink, just stared at her with her pale blue eyes, a blue so pale one might mistake it for lavender.

"Tell him I miss him, too."


End file.
